The film, following a man struggling with the voices he hears, has its world premiere at the San Sebastian Film Festival The depiction of schizophrenia on screen — especially in horror movies — has largely seen the mental health condition linked to violent and unpredictable rages, showing people when something has gone horribly wrong. This “misrepresentation,” according to British filmmaker Billy Lumby (a BAFTA nominee for his short film “Samuel-613”), was part of the inspiration behind his feature directorial debut “Florid,” having its world premiere at San Sebastian Film Festival. The film — also borne out of Lumby’s own mental health experiences — follows Jamal, a young man who hears voices (Lumby says he prefers this term to “schizophrenia”) and is struggling to balance the medication he’s supposed to be taking with his marijuana consumption.
Living in supported housing in East London alongside others with mental health issues, Jamal finds himself increasingly lonely and isolated, with the voices in his head, one relating to past family events, only intensifying once he decides to throw his pills away. While the story doesn’t culminate in the violent depths seen in the cinema tropes Lumby was purposefully looking to avoid, it’s a tough watch. But that’s largely due to the aural sensation provided by the voices, which become more powerful and prominent as the film progresses, dragging Jamal down with them.
Carrying “Florid” as Jamal is Jonathan Jules, best known for Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe,” in his first lead role. During filming, Jules wore earpieces on set, with actors in another room speaking into microphones so he could hear the voices live and respond in an unrestricted way. After principal photography wrapped, many months would be spent in post-production augmenting the voices to create the right tone and weave them into the overall soundscape.
Making the editing process even more complex was the fact that Jamal hears three voices. There’s a little girl, representing his self-worth and highly critical of him. Then there’s the voice of real-life rapper Unknown T, who hypes him up.
But most destructive is the voice of Jamal’s stepdad, which is a negative, paranoid voice that tries to convince him to doubt the intentions of those around him. Instead, it argues that they can be a valid part of someone’s identity and history and don’t always exist as a negative experience. While Lumby says there are definite “autobiographical elements” to “Florid,” he went to great lengths to achieve additional authenticity.
As part of years of research into the U.K.’s National Health Service and its mental health system, he went on psychiatric wards across London, shadowed social workers and met those with mental health experiences, plus their families and carers. Lead actor Jules spent time in the NHS, as his co-star Saskia Chana, who plays another resident of the supported housing and potential love interest. But many of the other roles went to non-actors that Lumby met during the extensive development process.
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